Vengeance - Currently Editing
by Amarylle
Summary: What happens when a pregnant Ginevra Potter sees Hermione as a threat to her relationship with Harry? Is it justifiable to torture your best friend of ten years in a paranoia and hormone induced rage? Who comes to Hermione's aid? Contains torture and violence. Casually short chapters.
1. Ginny Goes Crazy

**Disclaimer:** The wonderful world and characters of Harry Potter belong to J. K. Rowling, and I'm just borrowing them to write for myself and anyone else who may enjoy it, without any intention of profiting from it. I thank this talented lady for blessing us with such rich ground to build our creativity on!

* * *

A petite woman was flung against the cold marble floor, her body cluttered with deep gashes, slashes, and bruises. Her arms and legs looked bended in the wrong angles – broken and fractured, her clothes dirty and torn. Her hair was a frighteningly frizzy mess, darkening blood stains coating the rich strands.

"W-why?" she asked in a miserable whisper, her voice strained and raw from her torment.

The brunette witch wanted to know what she'd done to her best friend to turn so violently against her. She did _not_ expect the girl she treasured as a sister to look at her with such intense loathing in her deep brown eyes. They had been friends for the better part of the past ten years, but it clearly had been some wicked lie, an illusion.

This betrayal struck at Hermione's heart, hurting her more than the physical abuse the redhead had put her through.

"Don't be daft, Granger!" the other witch hissed, her voice cutting sharply through her victim like the coldest ice. Hermione shivered, her battered body aching in every muscle. "You stole the only thing I've ever genuinely cared about," she scowled, sending another cutting hex at the older witch, slicing into the soft flesh of her cheek.

"H-Harry is n-not an o-object," Hermione wheezed, feeling a sharp pain in her lungs, groaning with the sting of the hex assaulting her face. Normally, she wouldn't have let someone get the better of her, however, she had refused raising her wand on the pregnant Ginevra Potter, which was why she ended up in this situation in the first place.

Ginevra snorted. "Oh, _please_. I see the way you two look at each other. I've always seen it, but I refuse to let him leave me for you. You're just an uppity mudblood whore, and you're not deserving of my Harry, or any other decent wizard, really. I was overjoyed when my dunderhead brother married the Brown bint instead of you," she chuckled darkly.

"I d-don't want H-Harry, Ginny," Hermione said quietly, the light in her eyes rapidly dimming as her life's blood was fading from her body. She didn't understand where this was coming from. She never once considered being romantically involved with Harry.

 _Harry and her?_

That concept was so outrageously ridiculous, that Hermione would have burst into sarcastic laughter if she had any energy left to do so. She loved Harry Potter fiercely, but she counted him as her silly, annoying, yet completely endearing little brother, whom she had sworn to always protect, and she knew that was how Harry felt about her as well – a sister he was fond of, not a potential love interest.

"Don't lie to me!" Ginevra's eye flashed with anger. "Heck, don't lie to yourself, mudblood. Lies and deceit do not become you. Misdirection is really _not_ your forte, sweetheart," she snorted once more, lifting her leg to swiftly meet Hermione's bruised side with a harsh kick.

"Y-you are," Hermione stammered, taking a very shallow breath that burned through her, "c-crazy," she continued, coughing up some blood, her eyes widening as Ginny advanced on her, pulling at her hair with force.

"Potter! What the _fuck_ are you doing to my wife?" a completely enraged voice dangerously roared.

* * *

 **A/N:** This is a short story with tiny mini-chapters. It's dark and full of angst.


	2. Here Comes The Prince

The fiery red-haired witch spun around her heel with Hermione's curls folded around her hand, causing the older witch to groan in pain quietly, as with her life's blood fading from her person, so did the strength of her voice.

The brilliant witch with the honey coloured eyes was on the brink of losing her consciousness. She felt like she was in a strange kind of limbo between feeling every drowning ache in her body and not really feeling anything at all.

Even though she was out of order, she could sense her husband's warm mental presence engulf her, - like the softest cocoon of Acromantula silk -, the moment he arrived, and that knowledge let her succumb herself to the darkness. She did not have to fight herself to stay conscious anymore, she knew she would be safe.

The tall wizard stormed inside, his midnight black robes billowing after him, like a cascading layer of fluid black. His obsidian eyes were deep with cold fury as he descended upon the scene of his beloved witch being abused by her best friend.

He waved his wand in a peculiar motion and cast a silent spell at Ginny. It was his own modification of the Body Bind spell. The subject would freeze in motion, but remain standing and be able to communicate with their environment. It was the perfect interrogation spell, which was licensed for the use of the Auror Department.

He was somewhat glad he had this particular spell in his repertoire, because as raging mad as he was at the woman, he would not cast anything that could harm a pregnant witch. That went against everything he believed in. The growing life inside her was not at fault in the mother's _insanity_.

"Consider yourself lucky that you are with child, Potter." He said icily, as he leaned down to gently untangle Hermione's hair from her tormentor's fingers, and cast several medical scans on her in quick ascension, his face paling even more.

He waved his wand in a circular motion and drew it over the length of her body, putting her under a gentle stasis, so she had more of a chance at recovering, than she did without it. After securing her with that spell, he tenderly wrapped her broken body in his cloak and lifted her into his strong arms, holding her like she was his most important treasure in his life, which she in fact was.

"Unfreeze me, you sodding dungeon-bat!" Ginevra hissed at the Potions Master. "I am doing you a favour! Hermione is smitten with my husband, not to mention she is just a mudblood, even you can do better." She scowled. Her pretty face turning into something vicious with that expression.

Severus went rigid at that hated word bigoted purebloods called his wife and other magical individuals, who were born to non-magical families. "I never pegged you as a bigot, Mrs. Potter." He said lowly, his face a mask of indifference, as he had to start using his Occlumency skills to protect the moronic witch from his wrath. "That reminds me. I shall send a Patronus to your dear husband to come and join us, that will be _fun_ , won't it be, Lady Potter?" He asked, his lips curving into a particularly feral smile as the woman paled and her eyes were starting to fill with panic.

Over the past ten years the relationship between him and the son of his nemesis mended and actually formed into a decent friendship, and it had a lot to do with his witch currently laying limb in his arms. The accusation of those two being in love was ridiculous. They were more of a brother and sister than those with actual blood relations, and the whole Wizarding society was aware of that, except for Ginevra Weasley of course, but he could not expect any better from an imbecile, could he.

"T-that's not necessary, Snape." Ginny said, her voice a bit squeaky. "Harry does not have to know about this. It is between me and Granger anyway." She frowned, her eyes glaring at her ex-Professor.

"It's Lady Prince to you." He corrected her. "She hadn't been a Granger for the past six years, and you are well aware of that." His eyes bored into hers, as he wandlessly cast his Patronus, a beautiful silver Owl, and whispered his message to deliver to Harry.

"We will see how well you fair when your husband gets here." He smirked, and held Hermione closer to his chest, waiting for Potter to arrive, so he could apparate her to St. Mungo's.

* * *

 **A/N:** Uh, oh. The plot thickens. Whatever do you think will Harry have to say about this? And of course, what will Severus' revenge be? We all know he won't leave this without a response.


	3. Harry's Ire

Harry Potter was buried under a tower of paperwork, as he sorted through the recently closed criminal investigations to put everything in order, in case they needed the files in the future. It was so typical that he was the one dealing with the administration lately, as according to Kingsley, he had the most organized brain in their Department, and that was important for carefully sorted papers.

The raven-haired wizard groaned as he thought about what happened two months ago. It was Ron's turn to handle closing out the investigations and it turned into quite a mayhem, as he messed it up so badly, an entire team was sent out on the same mission that was already a success the previous day.

The team ended up walking into an illegal Potions supplement negotiation, where they spooked the witch and the two wizards that were meeting, and hexes, jinxes and dangerous curses were exchanged, with two of their own severely injured and all of the offending party apparating away.

Ron ended up getting suspended from the Auror force indefinitely, and Kingsley still refused to even meet with him, so Harry was certain that the redhead needed to do some major groveling to be even considered to meet with the Minister, much less get his previous job back.

He was startled out of his reverie by the voice of Severus Prince-Snape.

"Potter, get yourself to Hogwarts immediately, as your deranged lunatic wife had went off the deep end and tortured my love into a bloody mess!" The message said in an icy, but smooth voice, before the owl faded out of existence.

Harry's eyes widened with horror. His first thought instinctively went out to Hermione, and if she was okay, then he thought about the baby. Would his baby be alright? His thoughts got rather frantic about that, but then he rationalized that the witch he loved as a sister, would never raise a wand against Ginny while she was pregnant, which is probably part of the reason she ended up as a bloody mess.

He ran his hand through his messy hair and stood up, making his way out of his office with the purpose of storming to the Floo departure area, so he could get to the Headmaster's office, as knowing Severus, he granted him access already through the wards.

The frantic wizard grabbed a handful of floo powder and called out his destination clearly, and disappeared in a heap of green flames, stumbling out of the fireplace that was situated in the all too familiar room, but he did not pause to look around. He had much more pressing issues to deal with, namely his apparently insane wife.

He took a moment to ponder where the three of them could be located in the castle, which is when he had the idea of asking for assistance.

"Winky!" He called out loudly, as the female house-elf was serving in the school.

"Master Harry Potter called?" She squeaked in response, appearing in front of him. She was wearing the Hogwarts house-elf uniform designed by his brilliant best friend, and she was looking healthy and happy.

"Please take me to the Headmaster." He asked, and Winky grabbed his ankle and popped them to the Ancient Runes classroom, where he looked around in shock, so much so, that he forgot thanking the elf for her assistance.

Harry gazed at the limp, blooded body wrapped in a thick black robe in Severus' arms, and his heart sank into his stomach. Hermione was white as a sheet, her voluminous hair stained with blood, and her skin was cluttered with cuts and bruises, furthermore if he saw correctly, then some of her limbs were curved in weird angles, which could only mean that they were broken.

He guided his gaze at Ginny next, who was frozen in the Body Bind spell used by their department, her eyes filled with panic and poorly masked rage. His eyes took in the way her wand was still gripped in her hand, and his own anger snapped. He stormed towards his wife and yanked the offending stick out of her hands.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking, Ginevra?" He asked, his voice seething with his ire, and as his magic was crackling around him, he dropped her wand, less he accidentally used it. "Are you out of your freaking mind? Had pregnancy fucked up your common sense so disturbingly much you torture your best friend?" He yelled, uncaring for the fear in her eyes.

Ginny was frozen where she stood, and not only because of the spell, but the sheer unadulterated anger that was rolling off of her husband in waves. It practically rendered her mute.

Severus watched Potter yell up a storm and he was quietly pleased that the lunatic little bitch finally was nearing some comeuppance. He held his wife closer to him and quietly apparated out of her classroom. As Headmaster, he was keyed into all the wards of the castle and he could freely come and go.

Harry looked over his shoulder and noted that they were alone now and spoke once more.

"Well?" He folded his arms in front of his chest. "Fucking answer me, before I do something we will both regret."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, what ever could Harry mean? For one thing, it won't be pleasant.

Next chapter we will meet Luna, and perhaps Viktor as well.


	4. Healer Krum, Ginevra's Tears

Severus apparated to St. Mungo's, and a swarm of Healers instantly surrounded him and his gravely injured wife, herding them towards the Emergency Ward, where a familiar blonde witch took matters into her own hands.

"Merlin, Severus, what happened to Mimi?" Luna Krum asked in horror, as she levitated her onto an examination table, her pale eyes expressive with worry.

The dark-haired wizard's eyes never left her wife, as he replied to her. "Ginevra Potter is what happened. She decided to take her pregnancy induced jealous lunacy out on her best friend. If she treats someone close to her so atrociously, I fear the health of Wizarding society." He drawled dryly, standing next to Hermione, holding her cold hand, masking his panic with his Occlumency skills.

Luna swallowed her shock and closed her eyes briefly, compartmentalizing her priorities, and tucking her wayward emotions into the back of her mind for now. She would have to deal with that later, as the health of her dearest friend was the most important thing at hand. She opened her eyes, her face a mask of neutral indifference that was important in her line of occupation, especially when treating someone whom she held close to her heart, which was definitely the case.

Severus glanced at the peculiar witch's face and noted the subtle and well-practiced use of the protective Mind Arts, and his eyebrow rose in silent approval. He always suspected that the Ravenclaw was more than what she projected on the surface, but he only really realized how much depth she had a few years after the war, when Hermione and him became much closer.

Their friendship was somewhat of a rocky road in their early years at Hogwarts, as neither witch really showed their true face to the other, both of them full of insecurities and a desire to live up to expectations, but that faded after they fought in the War-, and went back to finish school together.

Initially Hermione was saddened that Luna was chosen to be Head Girl over her, but she quickly understood that was not because of a lack of knowledge on her part, or anything else really, other than the tradition of only Seventh Year students being able to hold the title. Even though that was true, Headmistress McGonagall let the two of them share a dorm together and the rest of it, as they say, was history.

Luna cast a couple of silent medical scans over her patient, and grunted solemnly. Things were not looking good. She took a deep breath and looked at Hermione's somber husband.

"Were you the one who cast the Stasis spell over her?" She inquired, burrowing her brows together, receiving a nod in reply. "Curious." She mumbled and waved her wand down the length of her body muttering the counter spell, but it did not work for some reason.

"Did you by any chance modify the spell?" Healer Krum asked him with a flicker of some emotion in her eyes that faded shortly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did." Snape nodded. "It's a more complex version of the spell, it automatically seals any open wounds to stop the subject from losing blood, and stops any kind of venom from advancing and circulating further in the body. The reason the usual counter does not work is, because I invented it to be able to be partially lifted, which I deemed useful in this case." He explained and taught the counter spell to the witch.

* * *

Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He usually was not the type to use uncouth language much, as he was admonished for it, but as his anger snapped, so did his restraints for the colourful subtleties of cursing.

"Well?" He repeated his question once more. "What possessed you to attack Mia?" He asked in a whisper.

Ginny stared at her husband, and she could tell that things would go downhill fast, if she did not think of something to save her ass. She closed her eyes briefly and molded her expression into fragile vulnerability, after all she was a master at that.

"Harry, you don't understand." She mumbled tearfully. "You and our baby are the most important loves in my life, and she was threatening to take you away from me." A lonely tear escaped from the corner of her eyes to trail down on her cheek. "S-she grabbed her wand and aimed it at my abdomen. W-whatever could I have done?" She asked in a strained voice. "I-, love, I had to protect our child." She turned on the waterworks and started sobbing, her salty tears dotting her eyelashes.

Harry's eyes widened at the words of his wife. His initial reaction was to unfreeze his sweetheart and take her home, so he could calm her down and tell her that everything would be okay, but then, it dawned on him that Ginevra always had a manipulative streak, whenever things weren't going her way. Besides, he could not imagine Hermione ever attacking his wife, even if she raised a wand against her.

It was not possible. Nor would she 'steal' him from her, that was ridiculous. There wasn't a single spark of chemistry between them.

"I don't believe you." He ended up saying, his eyes cold as steel.

"B-but Harry, you must. I would never hurt her, if I didn't have good reason." She said tearfully.

"You leave me no choice-" He sighed and raised his wand, whispering the only word that could lead to the truth of the matter. " _Legilimens!_ "

* * *

 **A/N:** Luna married Viktor, because I thought that was a sweet choice, as I can see them be very happy together. I also think she is a very good character to be a Healer. Also, is it just me, or does Severus has a secret version of every spell out there? _Where were you hiding your talents, Sev?_

Ginevra is delusional. Who expected Harry to actually believe her lies? He usually does in these situations from what I read, so time for a change.

To my disappointed Guest, who voiced that they were saddened that this ended up as 'another' SS/HG story; don't despair, I am planning to write something where Viktor and Hermione fall in love.

Also, thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows!


	5. Entering Ginevra's Mind

Harry merely whispered the spell, and found himself in Ginny's distorted mind-scape. His eyes widened slightly at the confusing mess his wife's mind presented itself as. Everywhere he looked there was gray and bright green slimy material coating everything, with some really angry red and black dotting certain spots.

He blinked and pushed forward to scan her recent memories, and what he saw made him feel nauseous. He saw Ginevra storming into Hermione's classroom a few hours back, and his dearest friend turned around to greet her with a bright smile, only to be thrown back into her classroom's wall by a whispered _Impedimenta_ jinx, with the intention to knock her backwards.

His heart sank into his stomach as he felt the manic glee in Ginny, as she cast _Crucio_ over the defenseless, writhing body of Mia, and then cast several breaking, cutting and slashing curses at her body, causing a big pool of blood flowing under the older witch. He felt a sense of betrayal as she called her a mudblood. _Was that what she would address his mother as, if she was still alive?_ That was a particularly horrible thing to think about.

However, what scared Harry the most was the darkness surrounding her. He felt the presence in her mind weighing on her, trying to reach out to grasp him as well. It was an eerily familiar feeling that he could trace back to Voldemort's Horcrux that tried to possess him a few times.

Realization dawned on him, and he could not help, but hope, that it was _only_ the untreated effects of Tom Riddle's diary that messed her up so badly, and she was not a genuine bigot with ill intentions, because that would destroy him and their blossoming family. He was not sure if he could survive that, he loved Ginny fiercely, but that cracked with her actions.

The glowing question was, _could they fix this?_

He knew that depended on the recovery of Hermione. If they lost her to this, he would never forgive Ginevra for murdering his dearest friend, whom he held close to his heart as a sister. Severus would practically _murder_ her if he lost his wife to her actions, and he would make it _so_ subtle, his department would not be able to prove anything, even if he was suspicious.

Harry decided to break the connection, and withdrew into his own mind, his eyes cold, and his expression completely unreadable to Ginny. He was not going to show even a flicker of what he was thinking to her. All he knew was that he had to get her to Gringotts, because the goblins were more equipped to deal with mind issues, and Horcrux residue.

Then he could lament on the next step.

"I saw the truth, Ginny. _Why_ would you lie?" He questioned her, his eyes boring into hers.

"No matter what you saw, I did not lie, not really." She whispered. "I was protecting my family, I was protecting our future." She quivered her lips. "I love you so much."

Harry's eye twitched in his angry frustration and he lifted her wand, hiding it in one of his robe's pockets, and grabbed his own.

"Winky!" He called out again.

The female elf appeared and looked at the wizard with eager eyes. She still liked to be useful, and it was her most inner desire to please everyone who was deserving, and Harry Potter belonged firmly to that category by her elvish standards.

"Master Harry Potter called?" She asked squeakily.

He nodded. "Can you do me a favour and pop me and my wife into Gringotts?" He asked, hoping that would be something she was allowed to do.

Winky bobbed her head up and down in affirmation, and grabbed the ankle of the young Master and his Miss, popping them to the private room customers usually arrived to by elvish transport.

"Thank you." He said, and glanced at the still frozen Ginny. "Now, I will ask for an audience with The Director, and you will behave. Your future depends partly on what happens here. Are we clear?" He asked, no longer was he Harry Potter, loving husband. He transformed into Lord Potter, Head of The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, and he was demanding respect.

Ginevra could only stare at him with wide eyes and agree with anything he said.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, plot twist?

Could it be excusable that she went bat-shit crazy on her best friend, because of Voldemort's Horcrux residue? Could any of them forgive her? Would you?


	6. A Potions Master Scorned

Healer Krum quickly mastered the counter spell for the modified Stasis, and one by one lifted it partially from Hermione's broken and battered limbs, to either quickly mend her bones, or vanish the ones that were too shattered to fix. After that she moved on to removing the stasis from her open cuts and gashes, muttering a spell that stopped the bleeding, then regenerated and gently knitted the soft tissue-, and her skin back together.

Luna paused in her manic procedures, and cast the same medical scans over her once more, and unfortunately they showed little difference, which meant that there was more internal damage than she initially suspected. She took a deep breath, and removed the Stasis spell the entire length of her body, mending her ribs together with a few well-aimed spells. Once she was done, she moved towards the Potions Cabinet, but Severus stopped her.

"Which potions do you need, Healer Krum?" He asked in a silky voice.

Luna pressed her lips together briefly for the interruption, but listed the potions she was planning to use. "I need a few vials of Blood-Replenishing Potion, Skele-Gro, Wound-Cleaning Potion, a vial of Dreamless Sleep, and if my predictions are correct I will need a vial of Calming Draught as well, for when she wakes. I also need Essence of Dittany, Murtlap Essence, and Healing Paste for the scarring on Hermione's skin."

Severus nodded, and reached into his robe, pulling out a miniature ornate wooden chest, and cast a spell to make it normal size again. "You will find everything you need inside. They are all improved upon for efficiency."

She raised her eyebrow in a silent question. "Why, Healer Krum, I am a Potions Master, I always carry a basic selection of potions for all kinds of emergencies." He drawled dryly, and Luna nodded, turning her attention towards her patient once more.

Healer Krum opened the lid of the wooden container, and was very pleased with what she saw. The potion vials were made of transparent, unbreakable glass, meticulously labeled, and sorted into different compartments. There were at least half a dozen vials of each potion that she needed. Severus Prince-Snape wasn't anything, if he was not prepared for all kinds of situations.

She lifted two Blood-Replenishing Potion vials, and uncorked them skillfully, glancing towards Hermione's husband. "Please hold up her head for me." She instructed, and the Potions Master gently lifted his witch's head, so Luna could administer the potions to her lips.

It was somewhat difficult to get the unconscious patient to swallow the potions, but Luna effectively massaged her throat, so she could help the ruby red liquid along. As the potion worked her magic in the Ancient Runes Professor's body, she regained some of her colouring, thus she administered the second potion to further help along her vitality.

"We need to wait a few minutes to have the potions settle, then I will have to administer the Skele-Gro Potion to grow the bones back in her left leg, knee, and the entirety of her right arm, elbow, and wrist." She said solemnly, and walked to the cupboard to grab a few helpings of gauze to let the wispy material soak in the Wound-Cleaning Potion she poured into a small bowl that wouldn't tamper with the potion, to later dab at all of her outer injuries, to disinfect them, and clear the way for the scarring and pain relief aid she had yet to apply.

Severus was rigid with the information he was both observing and directly being told about the state of his wife. His face was a mask of stony indifference, but underneath it all, he was a raging mess of emotions and instinct. He wanted to throttle Ginevra Potter to _death_ for the pain and torture she inflicted upon the one person who always showed him kindness, even when he was an utter freaking bastard to her, back when she was attending Hogwarts.

He recognized her superior intellect and curious nature in that first Gryffindor-Slytherin Potions class, but he could not help beating her down about it, dubbing her an insufferable know-it all, which was an opinion shared by the entirety of the student body.

He regretted belittling her, even if part of it had to happen nonetheless, to keep up with the act he put on for his Slytherins, who had roots on the Dark Side. It wouldn't have been very smart for a Slytherin to show his true colours to a House full of venomous snakelets, who were eager to gain favour with both their own and their allied families.

After the war, everything changed. Hermione did not leave him at the Shrieking Shack to die, she plopped a bezoar into his mouth, and in the middle of the battle, apparated him into St. Mungo's, so a team of highly skilled Healers could save his life. He owed his breath to her, but for a few years, he was too proud to even thank her.

Three years later everything reversed itself, and it was him who saved Hermione from some loose Death Eathers, who were on the run, taking their revenge out on the _'filthy mudblood'_. That was when she jokingly uttered that now they were even, before fainting into his arms. His expression softened, and he apparated her to the hospital. For the next few weeks, while she was recovering, he barely left her side, and then only to attend to his necessities, and the rest, as they say, was history. They fell in love, and married a year later in a small ceremony, despite what the public demanded of their War Heroine, and her Tragic War Hero beau, who sacrificed so much for the cause.

And now, one lunatic pregnant woman was threatening his whole foundation for happiness. Even if Hermione survived, which she absolutely had to, Ginevra bloody Potter would pay.

* * *

 **A/N:** Nothing like Severus Snape scorned. Watch out Ginny, this won't be pretty.


	7. Childhood Delusions

Ginny was standing next to her husband, still under the effects of the Body Bind spell, and she couldn't help, but see him in a new light. She never once suspected that Harry could have a cold, imposing side. Never in their years of marriage did he invoke Head of House status on her, which is why she was painfully aware that she was in deep shit that she had to find a way out of, before he made her life a living hell.

She had a genuine affection towards her husband, she even worshipped the ground he walked on, which is why it was so hard for her to come to terms with the devotion Harry and Hermione shared for each other.

Ever since she remembered, she grew up on The-Boy-Who-Lived stories that her mother read to her every night before she fell asleep, weaving incredible tales of bravery of a handsome Prince with a tragic past, who would surely grow up to be an even more shining Hero, and he would save her if she got into trouble.

She got addicted to Molly's narrative story telling abilities, and soon enough, she was asking her to read about Harry, whenever she was sad, sick, or lonely. The Weasley Matriarch could never refuse to do anything for her only daughter, so she indulged her, whenever she had time.

As Ginevra grew older, she asked her big brother, Bill, to teach her how to read, which he was only too happy to indulge his favourite sister in. She quickly grasped the intricacies of the English alphabet, and started to read stories about the brave, heroic Harry Potter on her own.

She read every book about Harry Potter that she could get her hands on, so much so, that most of them quickly got worn and a bit ragged, but when she became eleven and eligible to attending Hogwarts, she learned the Mending Charm, and had cast it over each of her favourite books, and the hand-me-downs she received from her brothers.

Ginny was shell-shocked when she first met Harry the year before for a few seconds, and could not even say hello to him, but she managed to attempt a shy greeting after the Sorting, and received a gentle smile from the messy haired boy that she developed a crush on.

It was only too easy to talk about Harry Potter to the mysterious diary she found in her cauldron. She was shocked when the diary responded to her, and introduced itself as Tom. She found herself compelled to share everything about herself with him, and she was spell-bound reading about his school years, from when he attended the school. He even pulled her inside the diary to share memories a couple of times.

Tom was especially curious about Harry Potter, and she was only too happy to indulge his curiosity, as her favourite topic to talk about was Harry.

The only times she felt alarmed about her diary was when the mysterious accidents started happening. She always found herself at the scene of the crime. The first time, when The Chamber was opened, she found herself staring at the wall with the message scrawled on it with blood, her fingertips and arms coated with a red liquid.

She was terrified. She did not remember the past few hours of her day, no matter how hard she tried to recall it. She quickly ran from the corridor, shutting herself into the abandoned bathroom that gave home to Moaning Myrtle's shenanigans. She frantically washed the blood off of herself, but no matter how hard she scrubbed, the smell echoed in her nose, and her body was crawling from the cell-memory.

Myrtle taunted her with her unique style of mocking that she developed from all the bullying she was subjected to throughout her school years before she died. She had no reason to be a happy ghost, and she took out her irritation on the terrified first year, that she could tell was in some sort of trouble.

The second time Ginny discovered blank spots in her memories about her day, she became suspicious of the diary, and she tried to flush it down one of the toilets, running away, back to her dormitories, but a few weeks of peace later, the diary found itself back in her grasp.

She got tangled in daily conversations with Tom again, who had woven an intricate cobweb of seducing lies about how much he missed her, and that she should always carry his diary with her, so he could _protect_ her.

Ginevra felt appreciated, and needed, so she complied with his wishes, and started carrying the diary to every class she went to, and even started sleeping with it under her pillow. She did not realize how much of a deteriorating effect the magical artifact had on her. She started losing sleep, her face was drained of colour, as she was becoming paler by the day. Her eyes were losing the mischievous light that reflected in all Weasley children, as an inherited family trait. She was losing herself, slowly fading out of existence.

Unfortunately for her, no one seemed to do anything about it, even if they noticed the state she was in, and as Spring was nearing its end, it was almost too late to save her, as Tom possessed her for the last time, and dragged her deep inside The Chamber of Secrets, to drain her of her life-force.

And then something amazing happened to her.

The Harry Potter of her storybooks materialized just in time to save her from her untimely death, and she fell irrevocably in infatuation with him even more.

After her misadventure with the tainted diary, she was not completely examined for mental discrepancies, only for physical injuries, which was the complete and utter reckless abandonment of both the Headmaster, her parents, and last but not least, Healer Pomfrey.

Ever since that debacle, whenever she got angry, or jealous, she could feel something simmer inside her, eagerly feeding on her emotions, and over the years that simmering echo got darker, stronger, and she couldn't hold back from lashing out at those who displeased her, and her ire most often than not erupted in verbal assault over Hermione, luckily not to her face though.

Then eventually she just snapped as the echoing darkness seeped through her, and she took pleasure in her best friend's pain, for in her mind, she was a threat to her happiness. It did not matter that she had a husband, _she knew better_. She was more clever than they gave her credit for, and she knew that Hermione was more devious than she portrayed to the world.

Ginny never once in her moments of paranoia thought about the consequences of her actions. Now she could not help but wonder what would happen to her. She felt a bit confused about her situation.

"If she dies, Ginny, we won't have even a sliver of a future together." Harry hissed into her ear, as they waited for The Director. "Even if she doesn't, we still might not have a future together, just so you have something to _think_ about." He said, his arms folded in front of him, as he carefully shielded his thoughts and emotions from her.

Her eyes widened.

Did she want Hermione to be hurt? Yes, _definitely_. She even felt genuine glee about it, as she thought it was justified for all the emotional pain she put her through with being so close with Harry. _Did she want her to die though?_ No, not particularly, she just wanted her to suffer a little. She closed her eyes briefly to replay the past few hours, and she paled recalling the state she left her in.

So what, she may have got a _tiny bit_ carried away..., that was not a crime, was it.

* * *

 **A/N:** A little bit of a look into Ginny's life, honing on her obsession with Harry, and how her experience with Tom may have influenced her mental capabilities. She was not taken care of after her misadventure, and that could have a grave effect on any individual, much less one who was in contact with something so malicious as a sliver of the Dark Lord's soul for a year.

Also, I wanted to touch on a matter that became clear to me from a few reviews from people, who only read Chapter 1., and nothing further, telling me that this is another _unoriginal Ginny-bashing_ story with a _Mary-Sue_ Hermione.

First of all, why does it have to be _'bashing'_ to delve into a character, and look at her or him from another perspective? We are not only made of rainbows and unicorns, and everyone has a side that they don't like to show, or that is so subtle it's not on the surface, but it doesn't mean it cannot be discovered, or that it is not there.

I don't hate Ginny, or her character, far from it actually. I am quite fond of her, apart from her obsession she always had for Harry. She is rather under-appreciated in canon, and I was sad to see that her only arc was _'the crush'_ in the books, and kind of a comic relief. In fact some of my other stories have her portrayed as a sweetheart, like in Bonded Souls. She isn't yet present in HF, or HPatPO, but she will not be portrayed as any sort of villain in either of them.

Her ties to Tom's Horcrux _legitimately_ give ground for debate on how it could and I believe that realistically, if untreated, _would_ affect her. It would be only natural that it would be connected to her Harry obsession, and go from there.

Secondly, why did my Hermione get dubbed as Mary-Sue, just because she was tortured and did nothing about it to defend herself? _Honestly, would you attack a pregnant woman, no matter how demented they acted?_ I sure would not. That does not mean that Hermione is perfect, it just means that her character has a strong moral fiber, and I like that about her. She has plenty of faults, but being moral is not one of them.

So please, try to look at stories that write certain characters with another perspective, as just another look into their personalities. You don't have to like them, but it is not bashing to discover they have other traits that _have the chance_ to become dominant. Bashing is when they are painted in a negative light without much consideration into their character, and no explanation as to why they are that way, and no look into their good qualities. I plan to showcase the good in Ginny that is going to be conflicting with the taint eventually.

Anyways, thanks for reading and thank you for the favourites, follows and reviews. c:


	8. Chinese Chomping Cabbage

Luna was methodically cleaning the open wounds that her spells were unable to close earlier, while simultaneously casting the _Tempus Charm_ , to check if the allotted time to administer another potion to her patient passed yet.

Once the Blood-Replenishing Potions had enough time to settle, she uncorked the vial of Skele-Gro, sniffed it, and nodded to herself. She knew that Severus was a very fine Potions Master, but in her experience, she knew anything could happen, so she always made sure to double check the potions she was working with, as her patients lives depended upon them.

"Please hold her head up for me again." She instructed firmly, and knew what was coming would not be pleasant. "You will need to make sure that she stays in place." She reminded Severus, and touched the vial to her lip, starting to pour the foul-smelling liquid down her throat.

Hermione, even though she was unconscious, instinctively objected to Healer Krum's administrations, but she was ruthless with her actions, and did not stop until she finished, which was unblinkingly supported by the trashing witch's husband.

The dark-haired wizard's emotions were well guarded, his face as stoic and impassive as ever, but inside he was erupting lava, like a raging volcano. His eyes were like liquid obsidian, as they carefully drank in every little detail about his wife's condition. He appreciated the professionalism Luna portrayed, and he knew she was one of the most qualified witches in her field.

It was particularly hard for him to restrain his chaotic emotions, when she was administering Skele-Gro to Hermione, as it tore into his heart, seeing her battered body twitching frantically in reaction to the potion. He knew from experience that it tasted atrocious, and re-growing bones was a rather painful procedure.

His eyes snapped to her face, when he heard her barely audible whisper. " _Sev-e-rus..._ " She moaned in pain.

"Hermione." He whispered with a flicker of emotion, reaching out to hold one of her hands, gently drawing circles on the back of it with his fingertips.

Her face contorted in pain, and she convulsed, trashing violently, alerting both Luna and the Potions Master that something was going horribly wrong. "Healer Krum, make yourself _useful_ and _do_ something!" He snarled at her, as he attempted holding her down.

" _Calm yourself_ for Merlin's sake, your nerves are _irritating_ my concentration." Healer Krum hissed at him in a very Snape-like manner, that probably would have caused his upper lip to twitch, had it been a different situation.

She weaved her wand in an infinity-shape over the center of Hermione's body, and muttered a long Latin incantation and frowned, as there was a series of colourful glows flashing in quick succession, until it stopped at an angry red, in the shape of a vegetable.

"Did you know that your wife was allergic to Chinese Chomping Cabbage?" She asked, as she ran the diagnostics once more to make sure. "We need an Equalizer Potion to neutralize the allergic reaction, and then I will ne-" She was once more interrupted by the wizard.

"I have the Equalizer Potion in the kit I have given you." He motioned towards the ornate box. "I can brew a version of Skele-Grow that doesn't have the ingredient my wife is allergic to, and _of course I haven't known_ , otherwise this would not have happened in the first place. _Do you take me for an utter invalid?_ " He sneered, as he cast the same gentle Stasis spell on her that he did before, touching her face tenderly. "Now, show me to your Potions Lab. I trust you have the ingredients that I need." He demanded in a cool voice.

Luna merely raised an eyebrow, neutralized the immediate threat, and cast her own spells over Hermione, carefully shielding her own emotions from both herself and the highly irritable dungeon-dweller. She closed her eyes briefly to reinforce her Occlumency shields, and counted slowly to five to calm down.

"Follow me." She said curtly, and without even looking back, if he was in fact following her, she stormed out of the private room towards the St. Mungo's Potions Laboratory.

Snape looked at Hermione softly, cast a few wordless warding spells, because it would be _raining Crumple-Horned Snorkacks_ , before he would leave her unprotected, and followed after her Healer.

* * *

 **A/N:** -Snorts- Can I just say I absolutely love that Luna snarks back at Severus? I had _so_ much fun writing this. And yeah, Hermione will have a long way towards recovering, it's only one obstacle that she is allergic to Chinese Chomping Cabbage.

Sorry Mia, but then again, for the story's sake, _not really_.

Thank you for all the follows, favourites and reviews. :)


	9. Harry's Musings, Goblin Interruptis

Harry was currently using his own Occlumency skills to aid him in masking the rage he was feeling at the pressure this rotten situation had placed upon him. He was reeling with Ginny's betrayal, and the act of violence she committed against Hermione.

Honestly, he had trouble matching the cheerful, fun-loving witch he fell in love with, to this vindictive, sinister woman, who took pleasure in causing her best friend physical pain. He did not understand on what grounds did she think that the witch, who treated him like her _brother_ , would _ever_ want to steal him from her.

Anyone who took a good look at Mi and Severus could see that they were deeply in love with each other. It was true that he thought the world about Hermione, and she felt the same way about him, but Severus _was_ Hermione's world, and _vice versa_. There was no contest between the two wizards in her heart, there never was, and there never will be.

It was true that in their fourth year, at the Eve of the Yule Ball, Harry, like the rest of Hogwarts student body, had discovered how truly beautiful Hermione was, but by then the two developed such a strong sibling bond, that there was simply no space for them to be anything other than brother and sister to each other, and that was how it was meant to be, as both of them were depraved from the warmth of family.

While Hermione was not an orphan like he was, her connection with her parents deteriorated into polite co-existence after they discovered she was a witch. It turned out that the Grangers were as wary about magic as the Dursleys, and even though they never did anything that could have counted as abuse, they stopped loving her almost immediately.

Daniel and Emma Granger were highly religious people, and they found that their faith in God, and the beliefs they have lived their lives by, stood in contradiction with everything they discovered about their daughter. They held up their end of the deal as parents, in a most business-minded manner. They provided Hermione with a place to live, they fed and clothed her, and they financed her school years, as it was expected from good parents to do.

But when it came to showing emotions, they held back, and never got involved with her, and after a short time of being shell-shocked by her parents' distant treatment of her, she learned to deal with it. She was smart, so she put the puzzle-pieces of the situation together, and concluded that the fact she was a witch, was a sin in their eyes, and something they could not get behind.

She had spent many nights quietly crying herself to sleep, hoping her life would change when she could finally be among people who would accept her. She was mortified and heartbroken, when she arrived at Hogwarts, and discovered that to the cream of wizarding society, she was as much of a hindrance, as she was to her parents.

Hermione was caught between two extremely different worlds that wanted absolutely nothing to do with her, and that was tough to swallow for a twelve year old little girl, when even proper adults struggled when they were not accepted by their peers. On top of all that, her academic brilliance, and her need to please her teachers had unwanted consequences. She had become known as the insufferable know-it-all, with the bushy hair and rather large front teeth. She was mercilessly teased, and had difficulty with finding a friend.

She could not believe that the boy who had tormented her the most, and the boy who had such a famous history in the magical world, had actually come to warn her about the loose troll, and ended up saving her life. Reeling from the unusual experience, she lied for the sake of her saviours, and gotten herself two unlikely friends.

Harry remembered that throughout the years, Hermione and Ron easily had at least a thousand arguments, as those two had extremely different personalities that often clashed. Despite that, he was rather surprised when after the Blood War, they gave dating a try. He predicted early on that they would not last, but wisely kept it to himself, because the last thing he wanted was his sister's ire on him, as her temper was legendary and _bloody scary_.

They ended up separating two years later, after a disastrous row, where things were said that even damaged their friendship. Ever since then, they were never able to regain their closeness, but they were polite with each other.

Harry attempted to cloak himself in neutrality about their relationship disaster, but his heart always drew himself towards Hermione, so his own friendship had suffered slightly, although the two remained friendly with each other, which was a good thing, as they were colleagues, furthermore, he ended up marrying his sister.

Thoughts about Ginny had drawn him out of his musings, and he glanced at the visibly nervous redhead, whose eyes reflected a plethora of emotions. He could tell that his wife was absolutely panicked about the situation, and she seemed surprised at his reaction to her.

He curled his lip into a frown, and shook his head. If Ginevra expected acceptance, she was sorely mistaken, as he would not condone what she did, even if she was his wife, and pregnant with their child. There would be consequences, he just needed more time to properly digest her actions and think whether he could even imagine being married to her after she tortured his sister.

"Lord Potter, a pleasure to see you again." Director Ragnok greeted him, as he walked into the room with purpose, and assessed the situation with his eyes. "Lady Potter." He curtly nodded in her direction. His face was a mask of neutrality, as he did not want to show familiarity to someone that seemed to have displeased their best customer, as he noticed she was under the effects of an Auror level Body Bind spell. "How may Gringotts help you today?" He asked formally.

"Likewise Director Ragnok." Harry bowed politely, and glanced at Ginny, who stayed quiet, her eyes downcast. "We have a bit of a situation on our hands-" He begun. "Lady Potter here had an unfortunate case of complete _insanity_ , and drew her wand on my dearest friend, and she ended up in St. Mungo's as a result." He explained grimly, and glanced briefly at Ginevra, who paled at the scrutiny she received from both her husband, and the imposing goblin staring at her disapprovingly.

"I hope we will find Lady Prince in good health soon." Ragnok expressed with a slight edge in his voice. He had a secretive soft spot for Harry Potter's muggleborn best friend, as she skillfully used her status as Lady Prince in her crusade to change the Wizarding Laws to the betterment of other sentient, and magical creatures.

Hermione Prince-Snape was the loudest voice to bring equality among all magical individuals, no matter their race, sex, size and abilities. She had a vicious fight on her hands as she rallied supporters to her cause, but she had several small victories over the years, and the goblins definitely basked in their new allowances.

Harry nodded. "I haven't had time to inquire about her condition yet, but I do believe Lord Prince is taking good care of her." He shared his thoughts. "But back to the heart of the matter, I have reason to believe that Lady Potter has Horcrux residue in her head." He said, and The Director's reaction was rather loud, while Ginny's eyes snapped to her husband's face.

" _What?!_ " Ragnok hissed angrily. "That is a very serious matter, Lord Potter. Where is your _proof_?" He asked with a vicious sneer, as there was nothing that enraged their Nation more, than anything to do with Horcruxes. They were the darkest, most sinister magical artifacts in their society, and even being involved with one had severe, and quite deadly consequences.

Lord Potter stiffened at the goblin's mannerisms, and deducted that he was threading dangerous waters, so he opted to be careful in his wording. "After Lord Prince sent a Patronus to warn me about the situation, I made my way to Hogwarts and asked a house-elf to pop me directly to the Headmaster. What I have seen in Lady Prince's classroom was horrible." He swallowed. "I was angry, and demanded some answers from my wife, who supplied some half-hearted gibberish, and I was less than satisfied with her, thus I used Legilimency to read her mind to witness what _really_ happened."

The tall goblin nodded to himself, as it was perfectly reasonable to deal with dishonest individuals that way. They also used their own version of Mind-Reading to their advantage.

"Continue." He demanded curtly, as he had no patience for proper decorum in this situation.

Harry took a deep breath to stop himself from shaking, and soldiered on. "After entering Ginevra's mind, I was shocked at how distorted her mind-scape was, and scanned her memories of the past few hours. Needless to mention I was horrified at what I found, and as I was trying to come to terms with what happened, I felt a familiar simmering darkness in her mind, that I could only compare to Tom Riddle's presence." He explained, and looked at Ginny, who was openly sobbing in denial, and he strangely only felt a faint pang of sympathy for her, however he had no desire to comfort her.

Ragnok's expression darkened. "Did Lady Potter have contact with any of Tom Riddle's vile artifacts?" He asked.

The raven-haired wizard nodded. "Yes, back in my second year at Hogwarts, one of his soul-bits made it into the school, with the aid of Lucius Malfoy." He said with a deep distaste for the arrogant Death-Eater. "He slipped the diary, which was the vessel of Tom Riddle's teenage self, to my wife, and she wrote in his journal frequently."

The goblin's slanted eyes flickered to glance at the witch disapprovingly. " _Were you not taught not to play with magical objects, Lady Potter?_ " He asked with distaste. "I would have _assumed_ that your family brought you up with awareness, and with the knowledge not to touch _anything_ that can _think for itself_." His dark eyes bored into her wide orbs, until she couldn't handle the intensity of his stare, and she looked down.

"Yes, Director, they did." She admitted quietly, as it would have been a grave insult not to answer, even though she had every intention to try blending into the floor.

Harry shook his head at the admittance of his wife. It was one thing not to be aware of the magical consequences when one was brought up by non-magicals, but she had no excuse. She was simply just irresponsible and utterly naïve. He sighed, and remained quiet, even though he wanted to add his two knuts to her words, but he figured Ragnok had the situation in hand, and he had enough stress and anger to deal with already.

" _Then what possessed your ladyship to meddle with something you were obviously warned about before?_ " The Director asked firmly, and he expected a good answer. He hoped for some logic in the situation, because he could not figure this witch out. She seemed to be rather unstable, and potentially dangerous, especially if this scenario was not dealt with.

"I just had too much on my mind and needed someone to talk to." She whispered, and looked up with sadness in her eyes. "My brothers did not really wish to spend their time with their _baby sister_ , and I was way too shy to make friends in my first year. I also had a crush on Harry-" She blushed like a little girl. "and I needed some outlet to sort my thoughts, so I wrote in the diary."

Harry's flicker of sympathy had grown a little bit at hearing that. He did notice that neither Ron, Percy, or the twins had paid much attention to their sister in her first year, until her life was threatened. After that, much to Ginny's eventual chagrin, they took their brotherly duties to the extreme, and paid her _too much_ attention.

The Director tapped his chin with his fingertips, and grunted. "While I still do not understand how that justifies writing into a magical artifact, I agree that you did need _someone_ to talk to." He said carefully.

Ginevra nodded, and her eyes traveled to Harry. "What do you think, Harry?" She asked quietly, her eyes and face streaked with tears, her heart filling with a little hope. Surely, he would forgive her now, wouldn't he.

Harry's expression hardened once more, when he sensed the subtle change in his wife's mood. Sure, he did feel sympathetic to what happened to her, as he himself dealt with Tom's soul pieces on many occasions, but that did not mean her behaviour was completely justifiable.

"I think we have business to discuss with The Director." He answered coldly, filling her heart and mind up with dread again.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, can I just say that this was unexpected? Both the background of Hermione, and the fact that this chapter is easily the longest that I have written for this story, almost as long as my normal chapter length, which surprised me. I hope you don't mind, although I am not promising to keep this length in the future either.

I also wanted to say that it's completely on purpose that they call the characters by their titles in Gringotts, it is just what I feel they would do. Ragnok is a very dangerous goblin, and even though he likes Harry, he has a deep distaste for the problem he brought up, which we can clearly see. I will also write more about the goblin relations and Hermione's crusade in the future.

Thank you for the favourites, follows, and reviews! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	10. Enter the Bulgarian

Viktor was highly concerned, because his wife was due home hours ago, and it was not like her to keep him in the dark, if she was held back at the hospital, or was otherwise occupied, which is why nightfall found the Bulgarian wizard at the entrance of St. Mungo's.

He walked up to one of the reception desks, and asked about Luna's whereabouts.

"Excuse me?" He spoke softly, his thick accent long gone, as he spent the past five years in England.

A short, black-haired witch in a Staff uniform glanced at him with merely a brief look. "What?" She grunted rudely, as she had a short fuse. She had just finished a long day-shift, and she was aching to go home.

Viktor raised an eyebrow. "Could you please point me towards Healer Krum's direction?" He asked with a polite smile. Over the many years of being a famous Quidditch player, he had learned how to deal with each situation with proper decorum and poise, and he had put that skill to good use.

"What is it to you?" She frowned, and actually looked up long enough to notice whom she was speaking with. " _Oh,_ Lord Krum-" She squeaked, thoroughly embarrassed about her attitude. "I-, I apologize, just had a long day..." She mumbled her excuses.

Krum nodded patiently, not caring too much about her blabbering, and repeated his question. "Could you please tell me where my wife is?"

The witch took a deep breath and nodded. "Healer Krum is attending to a critical patient, who was rushed in a few hours ago." She explained. "Currently though, she is having a small break in the cafeteria, from what I heard."

The tall wizard cocked his head to the side, and glanced at the irritable woman, to take note of her name, that was delicately spelled onto the sleeve of her robe. It was a common decision, that it was not proper to look at the female contingent of the hospital in the chest area, so a solution was put into practice.

"Thank you, Miss Finley." He smiled, and he was about to turn around, when she reached out and touched his arm. He looked at her, his face impassive. "Yes?"

" _Clarice_. My name is Clarice." She said in a husky voice, flashing him a brilliant smile.

Viktor's eyes lit up, and the witch took that as an invitation to lean in closer to the handsome man, completely missing the fact that his wife was standing right behind her, until Luna tapped her shoulder lightly.

"Clarice, I know that Viktor is _gorgeous_ , and his presence is _very_ magnetic, but I would appreciate if you got out of my husband's personal space." She said in a cheerful sing-a-song voice, leaning over the frozen witch to plant a soft kiss on her lover's lips.

"Luna, _moya lyubov_." He whispered, and returned the sweet greeting in kind. "I have missed you." He breathed softly, and rested his forehead against hers.

" _Lipswash mi mnogo!_ " She smiled, and caressed his cheek, her eyes reflecting how tired she was feeling. She still had her Occlumency shields up, because she couldn't let them down yet, as she would fall apart in his arms, if she did. She needed to be strong to get through the night, and get her best friend out of the danger zone.

Clarice watched the sweet by-play, and felt sick to her stomach, as she realized that she made a complete fool out of herself. She flushed a bright red, and left without a word, leaving an amused couple behind.

" _Kak si?_ " Viktor asked, once their company left.

"Tired." Luna sighed, and leaned more into him, to draw comfort from his closeness. " _A ti?_ "

"I am much better now that I am with you." He smiled, and buried his face into her soft hair. "You look exhausted. What happened?"

The blonde witch pulled back, and shook her head slightly. "I am sorry, love, I cannot go into details right now, but I promise I will tell you everything later." She said in a firm tone of voice, that she always used when she was serious, and all business.

Luna was aware how important Hermione was to Viktor, and she knew that he would go berserk the moment he learned about her condition, furthermore, she would not be able to do her job, if she had her husband's emotional outbursts to worry about. No, she needed to be clear-minded, and she needed Viktor to be blissfully ignorant about the situation for the moment.

He furrowed his brows, deep in thought. " _Naistina li?_ "

"Yes, really." She nodded her head. " _Ne se trevoji_ , the situation is well in hand. Please go home and relax."

Viktor glanced at his wife, and now that he had a really good look at her, he saw the tell-tale signs of active Occlumency shields. Whatever she was working on was so serious, that she had to shut her emotions out. His breath caught in his throat, as some very unwelcome thoughts entered his mind, but he quickly shook them away, as he knew that whenever Luna was this serious, she had a good reason to be.

He had a deep respect for his wife, and her ability to compartmentalize, and sort her emotions and thoughts, enhancing her focus as needed to solve a problem. He had no doubts in her abilities as a Healer either, so he was certain that if she said the situation was well in hand, then everything would turn out to be okay.

"I understand." He nodded, and leaned in to kiss her cheek tenderly. " _Obicham te._ "

"Thank you." She said softly, and smiled at him. "I love you too, _always_." She replied, and watched as he turned around to leave.

"As heartwarming as that was..." Said a sarcastic voice. "I am finished brewing the potion." Snape exclaimed, and held up a vial of smoky liquid in front of her. "I think your time would be better spent tending to my wife, than exchanging love-notes with your husband." He said dryly.

Luna simply rolled her eyes at his antics, and stormed off towards the private room Hermione was located in, her Healer robes billowing after her in a good imitation of the Potions Master, which made his lip twitch in amusement.

* * *

 **A/N:** I teased you with some Viktor in the character listing, so here it is our sweet Bulgarian by-play. I used a few Bulgarian phrases I found on the internet, because I imagine they would have conversations in a mix of English and Bulgarian when they speak, so I have written it accordingly.

List of words, and phrases and their meaning:

 _moya lyubov_ – 'my love'

 _Lipswash mi mnogo!_ – 'I missed you so much!'

 _Kak si?_ – 'How are you?'

 _A ti?_ – 'And you?'

 _Naistina li?_ – 'Really!'

 _Ne se trevoji._ – 'Don't worry!'

 _Obicham te._ – 'I love you.'

I apologize, if any of those are incorrect, I took all of them off the web.

Also, I would like to thank you all for the follows, favourites and reviews. It means a lot that you guys are reading my stories. Thank you truly!


	11. Possession

_"I think we have business to discuss with The Director." He answered coldly, filling her heart and mind up with dread again._

"Yes, we indeed do, Lord Potter." Ragnok nodded curtly, and glanced at his wife with a calculative look in his eyes, as if contemplating if she was even worth the trouble.

Ginny's heart was beating like crazy, and she visibly shook under the scrutiny, cursing silently to herself and yelling at her nerves to be still. It was not a willing action of hers to be trembling like a virgin girl on her first night with a man, but her nerve endings were stimulated by anxiety and fear, and the shock of the subject matter Harry brought up with The Director.

She really did not expect that he would say that he thought Tom Riddle's possession had left her unhinged, because that is very well what he was saying when he said he thought there was Horcrux residue in her.

She felt nauseous at the truth of his assumption.

Her possession was quite literally the _worst_ thing that she had ever experienced. It even ranked above losing Fred to the war. After her first year in Hogwarts, her whole world changed drastically. It was not obvious, or even noticeable to her friends and family, but...

 _She_ noticed.

 _She_ knew she changed.

She might have tried repressing it, fighting it, viciously attempting to ignore it, but...

It was so very easy to tune it out when she was in class, or hanging out with Luna, going on dates with numerous boys, and going to get ice-cream at _Fortescue's_. She was able to pretend when she was properly distracted with interesting spells, bright colours, the laughter of her mates, and wooing wizards attempting to capture her heart.

But when she was alone at night, she was defenseless against the small, almost non-existent, yet painfully aware slither of Tom's soul taunting her, torturing her with countless nightmares and visions of seeing her through his own eyes. Seeing herself for the witch _he_ wanted her to become.

He had continued to spun his web of seductive lies _so_ skillfully, she had not even noticed that she stopped trying to fight him. She gave more and more control over to him as the years passed by.

Tom honed in on her obsessive infatuation for Harry Potter, and used that emotion to play her like a flute. She danced to his tune, much like a puppet is yanked around by a bunch of attached strings. She was nothing but a doll, a beautiful, but fragile china doll, that was very vulnerable and in the claws of a Master Puppeteer.

It was easy to fool herself into the illusion that Harry Potter would save her, like he always did, he was the hero after all, _her hero_. The leftover taint reveled in her hopes and dreams, and used it against her. It urged her to cultivate the Potter boy, to seduce him, to make him hers, and hers alone.

The residue coaxed, cajoled, and compelled her until she was resigned and eager, and her only focus, her only beacon in this hopeless gray world was the one wizard that saved her, yet doomed her at the same time to a life of constant yearning after an ideal that Tom would only allow her to dream of.

She had her doting husband, she had galleons by the mountains, she had a mansion, and several holiday homes. She had wardrobes of clothes from the finest fabrics money could buy. She had the most refined cosmetic products dotting the many shelves of her luxurious bathrooms in her home. She had friends and nameless people fading into non-importance adoring her.

She had everything she could ever dream of, except...

It was empty.

 _She_ felt empty.

Tom let her have it all, except the ability to enjoy it, to be content and happy. To feel light-hearted, to feel warmth, to feel compassion, to feel anything other than contempt, vile bitterness and jealousy.

She was his favourite toy, his amusement.

She swallowed her bitter emotions, and noted the slight panic that wasn't completely her own, and looked up at Harry and The Director. "So, what happens now?" She asked, her voice shaking, but resigned.

Anything would have to be better than living life like this. It wasn't really living after all.

* * *

A/N: This is what happens when I keep reading dark fanfiction for days. I get angsty. My poor heart goes out for Ginny. Tom is a manipulative bastard, even as an almost non-existent entity.

Would you like me to go into more detail of his machinations? I have plenty of ideas, you could say I am bubbling with them. And I really enjoyed writing this, but I thought this was a fine stopping point, especially after such a long wait.

Thank you for your reviews, favourites and follows, I appreciate you guys more than you know.


	12. Body Language

Luna lifted the stasis and the protective wards, that both herself and Severus had erected around Hermione, and uncorked the potion vial containing the newly brewed dose of Skele-Gro, sans Chinese Chomping Cabbage. She expertly sniffed the swirling silver liquid, and noted that there was an almost unnoticeable change in the scent of the potion.

She hummed, and turned towards the Potions Master. "Please hold her head up for me once more." She instructed, and Snape stepped closer to carefully, but firmly hold his wife's head in place.

Healer Krum coaxed the brunette witch's mouth open, and started administering the smoking substance, while massaging her throat to help the potion along with an impassive expression.

Severus had witnessed this with the same impassive expression, something that he mastered throughout the years of spying for Dumbledore. His very life depended on making sure that he would never give his true emotions away. That particular skill of his had caused some difficulties in his relationship with his wife when they had first started dating.

Hermione Granger might have been a brilliant academic mind, a brave lioness fighting for justice, and the most passionate voice for the mistreated, but when it came to figuring out how to read body language, she had stumbled. It had taken her the better part of the first year of their relationship to be able to take her cues from even the smallest twitch of Severus' eyes correctly.

He had been frustrated, but quietly amused that his witch had found something that she was not particularly advanced at, after all she would have been way too perfect if she was able to read him like a book, before they had become intimately familiar with each other's gestures and quirks. He did his best to help her with her _'mission_ ', without taking _too much_ twisted delight out of it.

When he visited her to pick her up for their fifth date, books like _'101 Ways To Express Frustration Through Your Eyes'_ , _'How to Read Others' Thoughts by Their Gestures'_ , _'What Every Body is Saying: An Ex-Auror's Guide to Speed-Reading People'_ , and _'Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life'_ among others were scattered over her coffee table, and he could not help but tease her about it, resulting in her hexing him out of her apartment with an indignant huff.

She did not talk to him for a week after that, which at first angered him that she was being completely childish about the situation, then his anger transformed into frustration, which was enhanced by an aching need to see her. After seven long days of suffering, he came to the conclusion that even if he thought she was overreacting, her company was more important than his pride, so he bought a stem of _Everblooming Rose_ , and apparated to her apartment, ready to apologize.

When she opened the door, his eyes widened at the state of the tiny witch. Her hair was even wilder and frizzier than he had ever seen it before, her eyes rimmed with red, physical evidence that she was crying, thus his heart sank to his stomach. He gently pushed her inside her apartment, closed the door behind them, and without a word uttered, he had taken her into his arms. He embraced her warmly, and squeezed her body to his in an expression of compassion.

Hermione softly sobbed into his robes, and mumbled that she was utterly rubbish at dealing with people, and how she ruined everything between them with overreacting to his sarcasm. His heart swelled at this wonderfully frustrating witch realizing that her reaction was less than adequate, and he told her it was alright. He also told her that he was sorry, and that he did not wish to offend her, but sarcasm was as much a part of him, as the constant thirst of knowledge was a part of her. He promised to help her start reading people better, differentiating between teasing and malice.

The emotional conversation and the sweet gesture on his part ended in them sharing their first kiss. They have engaged in soft touches, kisses on the cheek, or on the back of a hand, hugs, and snuggling on the couch before, but they did not allow themselves the pleasure of tasting one another so intimately yet, but when Hermione looked up at him with such genuine gratitude and fondness sparkling in her light honey coloured eyes, Severus was lost.

He gently dipped his fingertips into her hair, and lowered his face, his nose rubbing against hers, gazing into those beautiful eyes of hers, seeking permission. Her arms circling around his back, pulling him flush against her was all he needed to connect their lips. They sighed into the tender kiss, which did not last more than a few seconds, but their whole world had shifted.

The kiss was chaste, nothing more than a feather-light caress, a teasing taste of one another, a preview if you will, but their hearts were beating like crazy, and their souls quivered, knowing that they had found a treasure that they would be fools to let go of.

Snape glanced at Healer Krum briefly, and wondered how she had become so skilled in hiding her emotions. He understood that for a Healer it was essential that they had the ability to compartmentalize their feelings, because they would not be able to treat their patients, if they were paralyzed by compassion and fear.

He suspected that for Luna Krum, it was not as simple as that.

Luna grunted, and wiped her forehead with her sleeve, once she was finished administering the Skele-Gro. She noted with relief that Hermione was not trashing around this time, and let out a breath that she did not realize she was holding.

She glanced at Severus and spoke. "The potion will need at least twenty-four hours to work, or more, given the amount of bones that need re-growing. Depending on her body's processing, she might need another dose later." She informed him.

He nodded briefly. "Very well, Healer Krum. I have bottled up the whole cauldron, naturally." He drawled, and reached into one of the hidden pockets of his robes, holding a small plain box. "This contains a few more vials of the potion. Let me know if you need more, and I will brew another batch." He offered generously. He much rather brew it himself, than hand off his altered recipe to some other brewer, who would turn out to be an invalid imbecile.

"Thank you." She smiled lightly, and turned her attention back to her patient.

She spent the next few hours cleaning Hermione's wounds, closing them to the best of her ability, and applying healing salves to help with the pain relief, and the scarring. Severus did not leave Hermione's side even for a second, and stood there assisting Luna when required. He was so focused on being helpful, that he did not even notice when his wife stirred at first.

"Sev...e...rus..." Hermione breathed in a strained whimper, her body sending pain waves to her brain, jolting her. She felt like a herd of wild hippogryffs stomped on her.

Luna heard her soft whisper first. "Mimi!" She called out to her tenderly. "How are you feeling?" She inquired, as was both required, and she really wanted to know.

"Sev...e...rus." She repeated the soft whisper, finally jolting her husband to pay attention. His eyes snapped to her fragile form, and he reached out to touch her cheek tenderly.

"How are you feeling, Love?" He echoed the blonde Healer's question.

Hermione tried to move, but found that she could not, and whimpered. "Pain...ful." She struggled with talking.

Luna noted that she was about to pass out once more, so she grabbed a vial of Dreamless Sleep, and helped the older witch drink it. "You have suffered a lot of injuries, Mimi. Most worrisome is all the internal damage." She said solemnly. "You need to sleep, we will talk later." Her gaze softened for a few moments as she caressed a wayward curl away from Hermione's eyes.

Severus looked on as Healer Krum handled Hermione with care, and for the first time since he found her, his lips curled into something resembling a smile, because no matter what happened, his beautiful wife had friends that truly cared about her, even if others went insane.

* * *

 **A/N:** I was inspired to include some small bits of their relationship. Those random book titles, may have been inspired by actual titles of actual books, but not all of them.

I decided that Hermione will survive, however there will be consequences to her torture that will stay with her forever, and Gin will have to face consequences as well accordingly.

It won't be pretty. I am actually sad about it.

Thank you for reading!


	13. Neglect

Harry arched an eyebrow at the resigned tone of Ginny's voice. He could tell that she was really unstable from the way her mood seemed to fluctuate rapidly. He frowned as he reminded himself that even though he was not at fault for the mental state of his wife, he could have insisted on a full examination of her any time after they wed. _But he did not._

 _Who in their right mind would have assumed that Albus bloody Dumbledore would neglect to look after his students?_

The messy haired wizard's frown turned into a scowl, as he thought that _he_ should have known better. The Headmaster never really took _his_ best interest into account. He was all for his _'Greater Good'_ , and ending another Wizarding War.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, and took a relaxing breath. He had no business blaming himself for the neglect, after all he did his bit about saving her from the soul piece, almost dying himself.

 _Still._

Gin was his wife, and he felt the responsibility for her welfare weighing on his shoulders, and he could not help but feel flooded with guilt. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that his marriage was not going to survive her outburst, as he would not stand for anyone hurting his sister, not even his own wife.

 _Fuck, especially not his own wife._

However, he had a duty to the redheaded woman. He glanced at her stiffly resigned expression, and his gaze softened slightly. He cared for her. Feelings for a person did not go away in a blink of an eye, even if that person did the unthinkable. However tender these feelings were, he was intelligent enough to realize that they would not be able to rebuild from this.

Not from _this_.

As much as he loved Gin, what she did was a criminal offence, and morally wrong, even if her mind was not completely her own. He was an Auror, and a figurehead for justice. He was in a good spot to eventually become the Head of the Auror Department, and as a beacon of Light, and a protector of the Law, not to mention as Hermione's honorary brother, he could not stand for this.

His stomach was turning, as it was tying itself into tight knots of revulsion, sorrow, and an insane amount of guilt. He felt nauseous, and he needed to calm down to handle the situation wisely. He needed a clear head to deal with the goblins.

As much as the goblins seemed to respect him, as he was their most prominent customer, he was aware of the dangerous glint in The Director's eyes, ever since he had mentioned Horcrux residue. He studied the customs of the goblins, and the goblin laws, as it was suggested to him by Hermione, when she learned more about how their society worked from Severus.

Goblin law was a lot different from wizarding law. Where in their society a lot of crimes ended with imprisonment in Azkaban, serious goblin violations ended with death, either a fight to the death in their pit, or they ended up as the breakfast, lunch or dinner for one of their Dragons.

He was well aware of the goblin stance on Horcruxes, even the mention of those vile objects could result in death, depending on the circumstances.

He took a deep breath, and turned towards Ragnok. "How shall we handle this matter, Director?" He asked carefully.

The goblin narrowed his eyes as he studied his wife, which made him feel uncomfortable and protective of her, but he did not reach out for her.

"We need to run a mental scan of her mind, and evaluate how high risk the situation really is, then we need to arrange a treatment plan. Meanwhile you need to consider how to best handle her situation in the eye of the Law. I am certain that Lord Prince will not hesitate to press charges." He said, with a subtle sharpness of his voice.

Ginny paled at the mention of charges, all colour drawn from her freckled face, and her mind raced with frantic thoughts of how she would be able to get out of this.

She did not think that her actions would have such serious consequences. When she resigned herself to her fate, she just thought they would free her from Tom's influence, and be done with it, nothing like answering to the Law of the land.

This was not good. _This was not good at all._

* * *

 **A/N:** Such a wretched situation, poor Harry has the weight of a serious problem on his shoulders all over again. He just cannot get a break, huh.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for all the followers, favourites and reviews.


	14. Icy Brick

Luna finished tinkering with the different potions and spells that Hermione needed, and took a deep breath. She had been working on her for the past twelve hours, and she was exhausted. She glanced at the side of the hospital bed, and her gaze trailed on the Potion Master's impassive face, which was betrayed by his eyes.

The dark wizard looked like he was pleading with Merlin himself, for his wife to recover smoothly. Healer Krum could sympathize with that.

"Please go and get something to drink and eat, I will watch Mimi." She said softly, however her voice held a no-nonsense tone.

Snape scowled at her. "I am _not_ leaving her side."

"Severus Snape, you will listen to me right now!" Luna raised her voice slightly. "You are no good to Hermione, if you don't take care of yourself. You might be a talented Occlumens, but if I can see that you are tired, irritated, and worried sick about her, then you know that your wife will take one look at you, and she will instantly worry. She should only be thinking about herself and her recovery right now." She huffed. "So, you will get up from this bed, you will march your posterior to the cafeteria, and you will not come back until you have got a cup of coffee or tea, and at least a sandwich into yourself, or so Merlin help me, I will force feed you myself."

Severus just stared at Luna, like she sprouted an extra head, or two, and then his lip twitched slightly in amusement. The little blonde was spirited, and he would be dead before he admitted this to anyone, but he admired that about her. "Very well, Luna Krum, I will go, but not because you ordered me to. _I do not follow orders_. I am going, because your argument has some valid points." He sniffed, gently caressed Hermione's cheek, and whirled around to exit the room.

The witch smiled slightly, and turned her attention back to Hermione. Now that they were alone, and her best friend was not in a life-threatening situation anymore, she flopped on the side of her bed and grasped her pale hand.

As fatigue set in, her Occlumency shields fell, and the reality of the situation hit her like a brick. Her lips quivered, and she swallowed her sobs, she couldn't allow herself to break down. She needed to be strong. She needed to have a clear and collected mind, so she could think quick on her feet. She halted the immediate danger for now, but they were still in murky waters.

Luna gently stroked Mimi's hair, and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on her breathing and centered herself, calming her rapid heartbeats. Once she quieted down, she reinforced the defense mechanism of her mind-scape, and opened her eyes again.

The witch stood up, and squared her shoulders, re-focusing her attention on fixing her friend. She grabbed onto her wand tightly, and cast another medical scan, expecting different results than before.

" _ **Merlin! No...**_ " She gasped, her carefully constructed shields snapping at the shock of the results. She frantically repeated the process a few times, only to come up with the exact same outcome. Her hands trembled, and she muttered to herself with anguish. "How am I supposed to tell Mimi that she will not be able to have children anymore?" Her voice was merely a whisper, but unfortunately it was heard.

She whirled around on her heel when she heard a sharp clunk behind her. Her eyes widened at the sight of a furious Potions Master, spilled coffee pooling around his feet, as the mug shattered into tiny pieces at the impact of crushing into the floor.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Severus echoed, his voice the sheer embodiment of icy wind. " _What. The. Fuck. Did. You... Say?_ " He repeated venomously, his wild magic whirling around his imposing figure robed in midnight black.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well..., I don't think anyone will save Ginevra from Severus' wrath now.

 _-Whistles in the background-_

Thank you for reading, and the follows, favourites and reviews.

Happy New Year!


	15. Severus, the Rampaging Dementor

Luna swallowed hard, and stared into a pair of obsidian eyes gleaming with so much dark intent, that she had to admit she felt a bit of fear bubbling underneath her regretful sorrow. Nevertheless, no matter how unfortunate and awkward the situation may be, Severus deserved the truth. Anything else would be unthinkable, and admittedly out of character on her part. If there was one personality trait that the blonde witch actually admired about herself, it was her sheer, unadulterated honesty.

"Because of the severe damage inflicted on her body, especially around the area of her abdomen, Hermione is now unable to ever conceive a child. She is barren." She explained quietly, subtly tightening her hold on her wand, just in case.

The tall man paled significantly, yet his eyes darkened, and she could see the swift change in his aura. Severus had so much wild magic crackling and swirling around him, that it was almost visible, and well-neigh solid to the touch. His long ebony hair slipped from its restraints, flying around his sharply defined face, almost like there was a gust of invisible wind lifting the silky strands.

When assorted objects started to rise to the air because of his uncontrolled power, Healer Krum knew she had to act, and fast, otherwise the enraged wizard would bring down the entire ward.

"Severus, calm yourself this instant!" She spoke crisply, and despite her uneasiness, her voice was controlled and commanding. "I understand your anger, but this is not the place, nor the time for you to turn into a _rampaging Dementor_. This is a hospital, a place of healing, furthermore your wife is currently laying on a hospital bed a few inches from you, and it wouldn't aid her recovery, if you brought down the building on her." She narrowed her eyes.

Snape glared at the blonde witch, about to rain his fury down on her, when a soft, almost inaudible voice halted him.

" _Se-ve-rus._ " Hermione whispered softly.

The wizard whirled around, kneeling next to his beloved, while Luna expertly levitated the random objects to their usual spots, exhaling a shallow breath. Trust her best friend to be conscious at the best possible time. She doubted that her words, or anything else she could have done, would have been as effective a _Calming Draught_ , as her gentle voice.

"I am here, love." He confirmed, his fingertips gently brushing a lock of her curls out of her face.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes, only to squint slightly, as the bright light bothered her immensely. She tried to focus her eyes on her husband, but her vision was blurry, and she only saw his outlines, splotches of his skin tone, and a lot of black, which she assumed were his hair and robes.

She attempted to swallow her panic. "I-, I c-can't s-see well, a-and I c-can't move." She choked, her throat lumpy from her nerves. Her whole body felt tense and alien to her. Her senses seemed to have dimmed, and she felt literally numb.

Luna took a deep breath, placing her mental shields back as well as she was able, knowing that she was teetering on the end of her limits. She needed a good meal, and at least a few hours of sleep to recharge.

"That's because of the potions in your system, love." She said gently, walking to the other side of her bed, and taking a hold of her hand. "Your body has suffered several shocks. The _Cruciatus Curs_ e damaged your nerve-endings, which we were able to treat, albeit not perfectly. You will experience random abouts of the shakes in unexpected intervals, indefinitely." She explained with a sad expression. "You have some major bone re-growing to do, which is why you are unable to move. Severus has kindly brewed an alternative version of Skele-Gro, when you had a violent allergic reaction the basic potion. I have neutralized the threat, so you shouldn't have any problems about that."

The brunette witch closed her eyes, breathing slowly. She had a bad feeling that this was not the whole story, but she knew it was better not to ask questions that she did not really want an answer to for now.

Severus could see the wheels turning in Hermione's head, and squeezed her healthy hand tenderly. He was using a full-power Occlumency shield that he had forcefully slammed down the second he heard her voice. It wouldn't do for her to see his anger and worry about what he may do.

Oh _yes_ , he was already plotting revenge.

Ginevra _fucking_ Potter will pay for what she had put Hermione through, and she will suffer tenfold for causing him to be unable to have an Heir of his own.

* * *

 **A/N:** I interrupted my chapter schedule that was apparent when I was going back and forth between the different character point of views, because I feel that another hospital scene was due, otherwise it would have been too evil.

Severus is simmering with anger, and Ginny will find herself burnt by it I am sure.

Also, we finally have Hermione conscious, but she doesn't know the worst of it yet, as I don't think she is stable enough to process the information.

Thank you for the favourites, follows and reviews!


	16. Catastrophic Results

Harry observed the goblin healers circle his wife, and he could not help the jolt of protective feelings and thoughts that rushed through him. Ginevra had sheer panic reflected in her eyes, and that did not sit well with him, even under the current circumstances, however he swallowed it all and simply watched.

He needed to be cautious with his dealings with the goblins, especially considering the sensitive subject matter that called for this meeting. He clenched his fists slightly under the over-sized sleeves of his cloak, closing his eyes briefly, and focusing on his breathing.

He had previously assumed that with the destruction of Riddle's soul vessels behind them, he could breathe easier and never think about _him_ ever again, but it looked like he was terribly mistaken, and he felt a sliver of guilt seep into his consciousness. He couldn't help blaming himself for part of this, even though the raven-haired wizard logically knew that he did not force Tom to create such vile magical objects, and he definitely did not tell him to possess Ginny and take over her mind, but he should have noticed that something was off.

Harry inwardly cussed and berated himself.

He _did_ notice that _something_ was off, he just waved it away, because it was easier to blame it on the pregnancy, and file it away as some of her little eccentric quirks. What a _fool_ he was. And now..., _now_ he had to live with the knowledge that his beautiful Ginny, the witch he believed to be the love of his life, was so mentally fucked up that she tortured her best friend, _his sister_.

How could he _ever_ digest that?

How could he even begin thinking about forgiving her?

 _Was it even possible to forgive such?_

What was to become of his marriage?

 _What about their unborn baby?_

He pressed his lips together in a thin line, and dug his nails deeper into his palms at that thought. It was crystal clear that Ginny was not fit to be a mother, and he had to deal with that issue soon, as she was due in a couple of weeks.

He could only hope that the excessive use of Dark Magic, and Tom's steady influence did not effect their child...

"Lord Potter?" Director Ragnok addressed the wizard.

Harry shook himself out of his thoughts, and glanced at the imposing goblin leader. "Yes, Director Ragnok?" He echoed.

"Our healers completed the evaluation of Lady Potter's mind-" Ragnok slightly paused in his speech and narrowed his eyes, prompting the young wizard to take a more alert stance. "The results are most alarming." He drawled.

Lord Potter subtly steeled himself for the inevitable bad news. "What did they find?" He inquired, his voice hard and controlled.

Ragnok narrowed his slanted eyes further in his anger at the results. "We found long-time lingering traces of possession that went untreated by a medical professional, and over the years the situation unfortunately deteriorated- "He paused, and Harry sucked in a breath.

"How bad are we talking about?" He mused out loud.

" _Catastrophic._ " The goblin bluntly grunted. "The slither of Riddle's soul is developing a link with your unborn child, and you do not have to be a genius to figure out _why_."

An icy chill filled Harry's heart. "He p-plans to..." His voice trailed off.

"He plans to possess baby Potter and take over before he is born into this world." The Director viciously sneered.

An eerie silence filled with heavy tension engulfed the room, and then... Ginny screamed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Plot twist alert. When you create an awful situation to write about, why not make it a hundred thousand times worse?

Sorry for the long wait, I haven't had much time on my hand, but I hope this chapter makes up for the absence. :)

Thank you for reading, and I am grateful for the follows, favourites and reviews!


	17. Overgrown Garden Gnome

Harry Potter felt like he was frozen into a human-sized ice cube out in the Arctic fjords, where the temperature was below zero, and icy wind howled through his ears. He felt like his blood was crystallized into minuscule sanguine fragments and ceased flowing in his veins. Every nerve-ending in his body trembled to fight the seeping mental and physical numbness that was threatening to overpower him.

He was expecting _anything_ , but _this_. He was not prepared for this disastrous bolt from the blue.

The raven-haired wizard only snapped out of his stupor when he heard his wife scream. His eyes flashed with anguish and something that was akin to pity. He felt a mixture of contradicting emotions at the sight and sound of Ginevra expressing her misery.

On one hand he wanted nothing more than to take her into his warm embrace and whisper calming words, promising to protect her from everything that threatened her peace of mind and happiness, but on the other hand he could not help but feel that she was getting what she deserved for everything she was putting him, Hermione, and most importantly their unborn baby through.

He swallowed hard as a jolt of guilt hit him, knowing that he could not completely blame the situation on Ginevra. There were many other individuals who also shouldered some disfavor. The blatantly obvious culprit was Voldemort, but there was Dumbledore, Pomfrey, the Weasley family, and he himself who did nothing at all to make sure that Gin was really alright after her ordeal with Riddle's diary.

How could Albus _sodding_ Dumbledore, _self-titled all-knowing reincarnation of the great Merlin himself_ be so irresponsible?

He bitterly snorted to himself. He was a senile old puppet master, who had strung all of them along on rather hazy, and very short strings, not really caring about consequences, as long as it was all for the _Greater Good_.

However Harry was more disappointed in Madame Pomfrey and the Weasleys. How could a certified medical professional do such a shoddy job examining her patient? If she was not qualified enough to treat the mind, she should have contacted _St. Mungo's_ to request a properly competent Healer to see to her.

What bothered him even more than Pomfrey's incompetence was the thoughtlessness of Ginny's family. How could the very witch who was the epitome of _mindless coddling_ not insist on a hospital visit? How could her otherwise demanding and creatively assertive brothers skip over the importance of a thorough check-up? What about the wizard who doted on his daughter like she was the most delicate flower in his garden, the Princess of his heart? How could _he_ overlook such a thing?

 _Finally, how about his own stupid self?_ Wasn't _he_ familiar with the horrors of what possession felt like? Wasn't it painfully etched into his very being how horrible the aftermath of feeling Riddle's every probing thought was? How his whole being was burning up from the inside out, as the dark ichor that was Voldemort's essence forced itself inside him, attempting to tame his spirit and crush his soul?

He shuddered and pressed his lips together, his muscles aching at the cell-memory.

 _No, he could not simply put the blame on Ginny..._

Harry steeled himself, and glanced back and forth between Ginny, the goblin healers, and Ragnok. "What's happening to her?" He asked cautiously, itching to go over to her side and check on her and their baby.

The Director narrowed his eyes at him and grimaced. "She most likely overheard our conversation, thus she is reacting..., rather loudly might I add." He looked at the shrill witch disapprovingly. "Calm yourself, Lady Potter! Screaming will not solve anything, other than irritate our eardrums."

Harry's eyes widened at Ragnok's bluntness, and he was alarmed when his wife sniped at him.

"How dare you speak to me that way you overgrown garden gnome?" Ginny screeched, her eyes blazing with fury and her inner turmoil.

Her husband blanched, his face drained of all colour. He hastily walked over to her side, and grabbed one of her arms to firmly tug on it, breaking the interrogation spell that was previously cast on her. "Behave yourself, unless you want to face goblin justice. I assure you it will not be pretty." He hissed into her ear, and her eyes widened slightly.

She gulped and glanced around her, realizing that a pair of goblin guards were advancing towards her, unsheathing their blades, and pointing the sharp end right at her face.

"How dare you address our leader in such a way, you uncultured human whelp?!" The shorter of the pair growled menacingly.

Ginevra flinched and took a step backwards, partially hiding herself behind Harry, and shaking like a leaf. The wizard's face hardened and his grasp on her tightened, as he kept his eyes on the threat in front of them, while glancing at Ragnok.

"I apologize for my wife's words, Director. She is not in her right mind." Harry bowed his head slightly in deference.

Ragnok bared his teeth in anger at the witch. "You better be careful of what you say in here, Lady Potter. Be grateful for the status your husband holds in our establishment, otherwise your head would already be rolling on our floor." He growled.

"I-I-I'm, s-s-sorry." Ginny squeaked, as Harry squeezed her to prompt her to apologize.

The trembling witch was terrified of the possible consequences, but she could not help but inwardly seethe and stew in her anger at her treatment by the deformed creatures that had no right to act superior to her. She was justified to be distraught and worried about her growing fetus, and no mere _gnome wannabe_ could treat her this way.

Lord Potter was also experiencing a jolt of anger at the audacity of his wife. He thought that her outlandish behaviour was further proof to the sorry state her mind was in, but he did not want to think about that. He had more important issues to focus on, namely his unborn progeny.

"Director Ragnok, is there a way that our child could be saved from the soul piece's administrations?" Harry inquired anxiously.

The imposing leader waved the healers over, and they discussed the situation in their mother-tongue, and Ragnok's expression transformed into something positively wicked.

"There _is_ a way to remove the taint, however it is highly complicated, and vastly dangerous-" He paused and glanced at the witch.

Harry suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. "There is more, isn't there?" He asked.

"Yes." The goblin nodded. "I need to be blunt with you, Lord Potter. There is a possibility that either your wife, or your unborn child will not survive the procedure, and you will have to choose between them. Will you be able to handle that?"

The wizard's eyes widened, and there was an audible thud, as Ginevra Potter fainted and fell on the floor.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, isn't this dramatic? I am kind of having fun with writing vicious goblin snippets. I pity Harry though.

What do you think will happen in the future? Will the procedure endanger Ginny's and baby Potter's life? Who would Harry save? Furthermore if Ginny dies, what becomes of Severus' revenge plotting? So many questions, so little time.

Thank you for reading and I appreciate all the favourites, follows and reviews.


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